Critical integrated circuits are tested at elevated temperatures before being installed in a product because it has been found that a vast majority of these circuits, if prone to failure, will fail in a very short test period. These integrated circuits are frequently encapsulated in rectangular ceramic or plastic packages that have contact pads or leads, which pads or leads are electrically connected to the integrated circuit. To test the integrated circuit it is necessary to make temporary electrical connections to the contact pads or leads on the integrated circuit package. Test sockets which may be soldered to printed circuit boards having the appropriate circuitry for testing a particular integrated circuit have been provided for this purpose.
Most prior designs include a lid which is either hinged to the test socket base along one edge or clipped to the test socket base along several edges, either of which is intended to clamp the integrated circuit down onto the contact pins of the test socket as the lid is closed. Unfortunately, during closure it has been found that the hinged or the clipped lid results in dynamic components of force being exerted in a non-normal direction. The normal direction is defined by a vector perpendicular to the plane of the test socket. Any applied force in other than the normal direction may result in movement of the integrated circuit relative to the contact pins of the test socket and damage to the contact pads or leads of the integrated circuit or cracking or breakage of the ceramic or plastic encapsulating the integrated circuit.